It’s a humid day on the Helmsburg Elementary School playground. Three Brown County High School students dressed in their caps and gowns are taking one last turn on the swingset, with slushies in hand.

Seniors Rachel Bessire, Meghan Cassiday and Autumn Bryant have been friends since the first time they met as kindergartners at Helmsburg Elementary. Now, the three are preparing to head their separate ways after walking across the graduation stage in the Larry C. Banks Memorial Gymnasium on June 8.

Bessire will start at Indiana University in Bloomington on June 11 as part of the IU Groups program. She plans to major in English and minor in dance.

“It’s emotional because it’s just my childhood. I have so many memories here,” Bessire said, swinging, as tears fill her eyes.

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Memories are flowing back for Cassiday, too. “A lot of our teachers aren’t here anymore that I had at least. Seeing the ones who are still here is just amazing to be able to see them again because I haven’t seen them in so long,” she said.

Cassiday will attend the University of Evansville to study stage management and minor in history.

Bryant will attend Ivy Tech to study elementary education. Her dream is to teach abroad in South Korea.

“It’s nostalgic. It’s where it all started. It’s where I met all of my friends,” Bryant said.

When it’s time to load back onto the bus, they ask someone to snap a photo of them in front of the swingset.

“The three original friends,” Cassiday says, as they smile for the camera.

Graduating seniors returned back to their elementary schools for a Victory Tour on the last day of school June 1.

Helmsburg grads were greeted with a large, orange-and tiger-striped banner that read, “Prowling the halls again: Helmsburg Tigers Class of 2018.”

“Celebrate” by Kool & the Gang filled the air as Helmsburg staff hugged their former students. Tiny students lined the halls holding up congratulatory signs, blowing bubbles and offering high-fives.

“It’s awesome. It’s fun. I love seeing them and some of them I don’t see anymore. Gosh, they are all grown up. You see them and it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh. I’m not that old. I’m still 27,’” Principal Kelli Bruner said.

“It’s great for the little kids to see, and the teachers, too.”

It makes Bruner proud to see her former students succeeding and preparing to graduate — even the ones who spent some time in her office for throwing paper wads at their classmates. “My little office buddies,” she said with a smile.

“I am so proud of them. I know they are doing well now. I asked them what they are doing and they told me. I’m just so proud. You just never know when they’re little what’s going to happen. I am really proud of them. They’ve grown up to be fine young men and women.”

This is the second year Brown County Schools have done the victory tour. The seniors first visited Helmsburg, Sprunica or Van Buren elementary schools before making a final lap in the intermediate and junior high schools. Students who didn’t go to any local elementary could go wherever they chose.

On the bus heading back to Nashville sat Kyle Spires and Brennan Hobbs. They attended the former Nashville Elementary School together and also became best friends in kindergarten. They decided to visit Helmsburg because of family and friends who go there now.

“I really like the idea of walking through the hallways and seeing the younger children. I feel like we have an influence on them. It shows them their end goal,” Spires said. “I see it as passing the torch.”

He plans to attend Purdue University this fall to study mechanical engineering.

Hobbs will attend IU to study chemistry.

“It all goes by so fast and it just seems like yesterday we were in their shoes,” he said.

“I think it (the victory tour) encompasses all we’ve been through, all we’ve done to get here, all the hard work it took.”

Spires described his time in Brown County Schools as “the best and most memorable times of my life.” He said he will miss the connection he has with his peers once he graduates.

One of Hobbs’ favorite memories from his time as an Eagle is having Gavin Steele as a teacher in elementary school. Steele now serves as principal of Van Buren Elementary.

“He’s one of my favorite teachers I’ve had. I had him for, like, two-and-a-half years in elementary,” Hobbs said. “He made me excited for education.”

Jordan Dolph attended Helmsburg his entire elementary school career. He will attend DePauw University this fall to study kinesiology.

“(I was) a little shocked at how small everything is, just how small everything seems, because when I went here, everything seemed so large and different,” he said of his return to Helmsburg.

Jessica Taylor also attended Helmsburg. Her best friend, Kacee Kleindorfer, decided to come with her since she didn’t attend elementary school in Brown County.

“I kind of got a little shivery, a little teary-eyed (when I exited the bus). It’s fun. My best friend, she has never gone here, but I’m glad I can bring her back and show her where I went,” Taylor said.

Kleindorfer said the victory tour is a “great experience,” but “I can’t wait to move on and get my life together.”

The two friends will attend Ivy Tech together this fall. Kleindorfer will study business and Taylor will study communication. Taylor said she will most likely transfer to either Ball State or IU. Kleindorfer is considering Ball State, too.

“Go for what you want. That’s the main priority right there. If you really want to go for something, you go for it. If it’s your dream, go for that,” Kleindorfer said.

Taylor said she will miss all of her classmates when she graduates this week.

“You don’t really realize it, but you spend half of your life with these people because you’re made to go (to school), and I don’t know what I am going to do not seeing all of these people,” she said.

“It’s going to be hard to let go,” Kleindorfer said.

Both girls describe their time as students in Brown County Schools as an “emotional rollercoaster.”

“There’s been some good and some bad times, but I guess I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Taylor said.

On the bus to Helmsburg, Lauren Silva said she was looking forward to inspiring the elementary students with the Victory Tour.

“It’s a good thing to be able to have the little kids see how you can grow up and all the amazing things you can do,” she said.

Evelyn Butler agreed.

“(It’s) showing the kids that it’s possible to graduate and it doesn’t take as long as you think it does. It really doesn’t,” she said.

Butler said she is most looking forward to not having to use passes to go to the restroom after graduation.

Madison Klave said she won’t miss one-ply toilet paper or cafeteria food. She plans to attend Vincennes University this fall to study criminal justice with hopes of working for the Indiana State Police or FBI.

“I am just excited about being able to start the next chapter of my life,” she said.